Bula Boys Ready For Neigbours

The Vodafone Fiji national football side all set to face the Solomon Islands tonight in the first leg of their international friendly at ANZ Stadium in Suva.

Coach Christophe Gamel said they were ready to prove themselves against the Islanders.

“For what I have seen I feel that the boys want to try their best and I trust the boys, they will act,”Gamel said.

The Frenchman believes there would be a lot challenge for him in the match against the visitors.

“I have had only one training run to do this. It wasn’t easy but expect some new players in the squad tomorrow (today). We will try our best against a good Solomon Island’s team.”

Gamel said Solomon Islands have two overseas players and some veteran players with the likes of Benjamin Totori and James Naka who were not new to Fiji Football.

“They play small pace football and are very skillfull,”Gamel said.

He said he had worked on a plan to face the Islanders.

‘I have worked hard on defence and attack and have faith in my team,” Gamel said.

“It is going to be a tough match but it’s good for us to learn and improve our performance.

The no-nonsense coach has urged fans to rely behind the behind and stop criticising.

‘My message to fans are to come out in numbers and support the team rather than criticizing on the social media. We had a long time plan and we are not just looking at these matches,”Gamel said.

Meanwhile Fijian captain Roy Krishna is out of the first match due to cub commitment and Benaminio Mateinaqara has been recalled in the team after Simione Tamanisau pulled out due to sickness. Tamanisau is down with fever and flu and could not avail himself for training. The Vodafone Fiji national team takes on the Solomon Islands in the first international friendly match at the ANZ Stadium in Suva tomorrow. The match kicks off at 7pm. The second and final match will be played at Lautoka’s Churchill Park on Sunday commencing at 3pm

Impressive Suva goalkeeper Tevita Koroi, Rewa’s Vuniuci Tikomaimereke and Madhavan Goundar together with Nadi’s Alfraz Ali, Andrew Naicker, Waisake Tabucava, Ba’s Sitiveni Cavuilagi, Suva’s Ravinesh Karan Singh and Navua’s Zane Lingam and Manav Permal will make their international debut in the senior men’s team while Amani Makoe, Iosefo Verevou, Christopher Wasasala, Saula Waqa and Napolioni Qasevakatini are making a comeback after missing out in the World Cup qualifiers against New Zealand.

About FIJI FA

Fiji was among the founding members of OFC along with Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The nation of around 800,000 has traditionally been one of Oceania best performers – second only to New Zealand in the FIFA rankings for men. The Fiji Football Association (FFA) nurtures hopes of one day toppling the giants in Oceania and qualifying for a FIFA finals competition.